


A Place To Call Home

by nyctophilia_wonderwall



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bilbo Remains In Erebor, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24590659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyctophilia_wonderwall/pseuds/nyctophilia_wonderwall
Summary: Thorin, Fili, and Kili all survive the Battle of Five Armies. This is the story of Bilbo and Thorin's relationship in the years after the battle. (This isn't really a spoiler because you could probably see it coming, but they get married and adopt Frodo.)
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Kíli (Tolkien)/Tauriel (Hobbit Movies)
Kudos: 19





	A Place To Call Home

Thorin drifted in and out of consciousness. 

When he was somewhat awake, he thought he saw Bilbo sitting beside him, but that wasn't possible. He'd seen the hobbit get knocked in the head during the battle and assumed the worst. The thought of Bilbo disappearing if Thorin woke up completely made him want to sleep forever. Death seemed almost enticing. If he were dead, at least he could be reunited with his burglar and his family.

He dreamt of Bilbo, of all the memories they'd made on the long journey to the mountain. Memories of falling hopelessly in love. He'd loved Bilbo from the very beginning, even when he hadn't wanted to.

_The door opened and there he was: the burglar that Gandalf had promised. Thorin had expected to be excited for the addition to the company, but he hadn't expected his heart to flutter when he first saw him._

_He was small, much smaller than most dwarves, and softer in every way. His face was smooth and round, and his eyes were full of joy even though he was obviously displeased by the amount of strangers in his home. He didn't look like a burglar. He was too sweet and easily flustered. He was the most adorable thing Thorin had ever seen._

_That was the first reason he didn't want Bilbo to come._

_"I cannot guarantee his safety," Thorin told Gandalf. He barely knew the hobbit, but he already knew that he could never forgive himself if something were to happen to him._

_When the journey began, Thorin wanted to be irritated with Bilbo. The hobbit had lived a life of comfort and relative luxury, so he had no idea how to defend himself of survive on his own in the wild. That meant extra work for everyone else in the company. He wanted to be mad every time he or another dwarf had to risk their own safety to protect or save Bilbo. But he couldn't be mad, because Bilbo would save them right back. Still, Thorin doubted him. Bilbo was too sweet to be mad at, but his presence did sometimes slow them down and gave them the burden of having to look after him._

_And then Bilbo was nearly lost in the goblin tunnels. Thorin was angry at himself for losing him, but he couldn't express that, so he yelled at everyone about how Bilbo must have slipped off and left them. After all, Bilbo wasn't fit for life on the road and was always thinking of home._

_Thorin was even more furious with himself when Bilbo turned up like nothing had happened. He'd heard what Thorin had said about him, but he didn't seem hurt. He said he did miss home, and often longed to return, and it hit Thorin like an arrow through the heart. He said he wanted to help the dwarves however he could because they didn't have a home. The sun was setting and Thorin loved him._

_The orcs attacked and Bilbo fought for him. He could have been killed._

_And that was when Thorin said he was sorry. He was sorry for doubting Bilbo, sorry for acting cold for so long. He was wrong, and Bilbo was right. Bilbo was the answer and the truth and a breath of fresh air and holding Bilbo in his arms felt just as good as seeing the mountain in the distance._

_That night, when everyone else was asleep, Thorin told Bilbo how he felt._

_"I've known it since I met you in Bag End," he said. "I've been trying to deny these feelings and hoping they'd go away, but they haven't. You are so much more to me than just a member of this company."_

_In response, Bilbo kissed him on the cheek._

_In Mirkwood, Bilbo saved them from the spiders, and then from the wood-elves. When Thorin first heard Bilbo's voice outside his cell door in the elven halls, he nearly cried with joy. He'd resigned himself to being trapped there alone for all his days when his burglar showed up, holding the keys to free him. Had they not been in such a hurry to escape, Thorin could have kissed Bilbo when he unlocked the door._

_During the celebrations in Laketown, he did kiss him. When the town discovered that the mountain king had returned, the night of feasting and merriment began. No one noticed when the king they were celebrating slipped away with the hobbit. The master of the city had arranged for each member of the company to have his own room in the inn that night, but Bilbo followed Thorin to his room. As soon as the door was closed, Thorin cupped the hobbit's face in his hands and kissed him gently._

_When they pulled apart, Bilbo whispered Thorin's name, but before he could say anything else their lips met again and the rest of the world faded away._

_Somehow they ended up in the bed. It was a haze of kisses and whispered declarations of affection. Thorin was drunk on wine and the feeling of Bilbo's lips. In the morning, he didn't remember much; but Bilbo was curled up beside him wearing Thorin's tunic. For a while, he laid and listened to the sound of the hobbit's breathing. He wanted to wake him with a kiss and tell him he loved him, but instead he dressed quietly and slipped out of the room while Bilbo was still sleeping._

_When they reached the mountain, it was Bilbo who found the staircase and the keyhole. The door was opened, and they were home. And then they sent Bilbo to find the Arkenstone._

_He came back empty handed, or so they all thought._

_They fought the dragon, but didn't kill him. Smaug flew to Laketown and destroyed the city before finally being shot down by the man Bard._

_And then Thorin got sick. Gold filled his mind. He could think of little else. He had promised mithril to the elves and gold to the men, but he couldn't imagine parting with a single jewel. He paced around the great halls with a crown upon his head while the others searched for the Arkenstone. Bilbo didn't search. He stayed by Thorin's side, listening to stories of the grandeur of Erebor. Even above gold, Thorin wanted Bilbo. He needed him, craved him, his whole body ached with desire for the hobbit. It was Bilbo he turned to when the cold nights and hunger for gold left Thorin sleepless. It was Bilbo he turned to when the long days of searching failed to produce what he wanted._

_"One of them has taken it," Thorin often said. "One of them has betrayed me."_

_They prepared for battle. Thorin spoiled Bilbo with a beautiful coat of mithril mail. It would keep the hobbit safe, and that was the most important thing besides finding the Arkenstone._

_As the dwarves gathered weapons, Thorin turned to Bilbo again. "I do not trust them. One of them has betrayed me."_

_As it turned out, it had been Bilbo. When Thorin saw the gleam of white light in Bard's hand, the needy feeling in his gut surged._

_"You lie," he called down to the army of men and elves. "The real Arkenstone is in these halls!"_

_And then little Bilbo stepped forward and announced that no, it wasn't. He had found the Arkenstone on the very first day and taken it as his fourteenth share. Thorin could feel his heart shattering in his chest. Not once had he questioned Bilbo. Not once had he doubted the loyalty of the one he loved. He'd never imagined that his burglar would steal from him._

_"How could you?" Thorin cried. "You miserable hobbit. I wish you'd never come."  
_

_"I wanted to give it to you," Bilbo said. "But you've changed, Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word or questioned the loyalty of his kin."_

_Everyone seemed to hold their breath._

_"Throw him from the ramparts," Thorin said, nearly choking on his words._

_No one moved, so Thorin grabbed Bilbo himself and dragged him to the wall. The wretched little thief didn't even look scared, just sad, his eyes brimming with tears. Gandalf called for Thorin to let Bilbo go, so he did, and watched him climb down a rope over the wall._

_Head spinning, Thorin retreated into the halls. He wandered aimlessly, this time not looking at the gold but rather looking into himself. It was his fault. It was his own greed that had made him lose the Arkenstone and the love of his life and start a war._

_"What am I doing?" he asked himself. "I am stronger than this. I will not let this sickness destroy me. I am not my grandfather." He threw his crown to the floor. He was more of a king without it, and as king he led his people into battle one last time._

_He brought Fili, Kili, and Dwalin to take out Azog. Bilbo found them and warned them that it was a trap, but it was too late. Thorin saw the orcs take Fili first, then Kili. Then he saw Bilbo get knocked in the head by the handle of an axe and crumple to the ground. With nothing left to lose, Thorin went to fight Azog. He killed the him, pushed his sword all the way through the orc's body and into the ice. But he'd been run through with a blade too, stabbed in the side._

_As Thorin faded from consciousness, he thought he spoke to Bilbo. It was the blood loss making his mind fuzzy, he knew, but it was nice to at least believe that he was spending his final moments with his hobbit. He apologized for what he'd said earlier, for threatening to kill Bilbo. He begged for forgiveness that he didn't deserve, and the hobbit gave it. He told Bilbo to go home, back to his books and his armchair and to plant his trees and live out the rest of his days in peace. He said he was sorry for putting Bilbo through so much. He should have said he loved him. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of Bilbo's lips on his._

And then Thorin was in a bed in a makeshift hospital where elven healers were working their magic.

Eventually, he really woke up, and there was Bilbo sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Bilbo?" he asked, hardly believing his eyes.

"You're awake!" the hobbit said. He took Thorin's hand in his own and squeezed in gently. "I was scared you'd never wake up."

"I thought you'd been killed," Thorin said.

"No, no, I'm just fine. I thought you were gone for sure."

"Fili and Kili?" Thorin asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"They're alive too," Bilbo said. "They're in rough shape, like you are, but alive. Fili broke his legs when he fell but he'll heal. The elf Tauriel saved Kili."

"The battle is over?"

"Yes. They drove the orcs away. The men of Laketown and King Thranduil already bartered with Dain for what treasure they wanted. They refused to wait until you woke up. It's been a few days. They also returned the Arkenstone."

"I'm so sorry," Thorin said. "You were right to take the Arkenstone. I was too blind to see it then. I should have just done what I had promised. I've been a terrible king."

"It can all be fixed," Bilbo said. He moved closer. "I believe you're going to be a wonderful king."

"Master burglar," Thorin whispered. "May I confess something? You're very good at stealing things."

"Oh, well, I've done my best. It's what you brought me along for."

"I believe you've stolen my heart," Thorin said.

Bilbo's cheeks flushed red, and then he leaned forward to kiss Thorin. When their lips parted, they kept their faces close together, taking each other in.

"I love you," Bilbo breathed.

"I love you too."

"I was wrong when I said this before, but now I really do believe that the worst is behind us. I think the days of the future look bright."


End file.
